(The following story by R.G. Edmonson appeared on The Journal of Commerce website on August 10, 2010.)

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said Tuesday 85 percent of the country will be connected by a high-speed rail network within 25 years.

He said he was “more optimistic than ever” about the future of transportation policy as he said he would soon meet with President Obama to discuss the president’s “transformational vision” for the future. A major part of the administration’s focus is high-speed rail.

“We don’t know where the lines will fall on a map or where the money will come from, but I promise you in less time than it took to create our interstates, the country will have high-speed rail,” LaHood said.

Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, co-chairman of the Building America's Future coalition said, “We hope the secretary takes our message to the president: infrastructure is one of the most effective ways to help create good-paying jobs, increase Americans’ quality of life and show how we can efficiently invest during hard times.”